John, the disciple beloved by Yeshua, had a great way with words, and an equally shocking take on the transcendence of Divine Love. In this post I want to look at this revealing little passage from the Johannine spiritual tradition.

And the Tao Logos became flesh

This declaration by John would have freaked out both the Greek philosophers and the Jewish theologians of his day. The Tao (Chinese) or Logos (Greek) referred to the transcendent organising principle of the cosmos to all who used the terms. An unseen mystery whose effects were only manifest in the visible world of Nature. Both the Chinese and Greek philosophers believed that this living force or energy underpinned all the material world, an ocean of sorts upon which the ship of our space-time world floated. It saturated the visible realm of all living things like water in a freshly drenched sponge, yet remained a teasing mystery to the mind of man.

John shocks us by suggesting that this Tao-Logos became flesh, in other words took on human form, or more startling become one of us! The Intelligent Mystery that upheld all things somehow poured itself or himself into a human being, in a unique Way.

And was tabernacling among us

The Presence of the Tao-Logos camped among us in human form. There is something very daring in such a risky venture on the part of the Source of All. How can the Divine Wisdom limit itself to an individual human Being. Stepping into the apparently dangerous, skewed world of form seems like a ludicrous plan for such an all-encompassing One. Why the visit? Why the intimacy of a shared human experience?

And we were gazing at his glory

The Johannine writer suggests that those who brushed up against this incarnated Tao-Logos were unknowingly given a chance to observe at close quarters the very manifest Essence of the Divine visitor’. In some strange way, the Tao-Logos could be observed face to face, rather than the rare glimpses that it previously revealed to the spiritual seekers of all cultures. The Shekinah Cloud of Presence that had previously visited Solomon’s Temple on rare occasions had now moved into the earthy area of human existence. Yet, unsurprisingly such a Presence was missed by the majority of the crowd, content to play the old religious games of their Jewish forefathers.

A glory as of an only begotten beside Father

The glory or shining of the visiting Tao-Logos was in some way unique. Not the reflected glory of all those made in the Divine image, but the glory of One intimately in on the God thing before the beginning of space-time. One birthed in some mysterious Way by the Creative Father Source outside the limitations of material cause and effect. One in companionship and partnership with the Divine Cause of All. A co-worker in the hilarious Dance of Creation and Being. One there to enjoy relationship within the Mystery that we call God.

Full of grace and truth

So what of the nature of the One who birthed Nature? The flow of Life known as the Tao-Logos knows only one direction, viz. that of giving. Secure in its own Being it pours out its Divine energy into the fabric of All Things, us included. A non judgemental Presence whose only aim is to heal and restore the psyche-soul of mankind.

Once we come to the liberating realisation that Truth is not a set of beliefs our world is turned upside down. To discover that the Tao-Logos is just not an impersonal force as in Star Wars, but a Presence that manifested itself in the person of a Man, is a psycho-spiritual shock to our systemized world view. That which was Mystery has made the quantum leap into humanity to demonstrate its Nature in a way that we can easily understand viz compassion and unconditional love for the creation it has birthed.

So, if we wish to discover the invisible Tao-Logos, or Way-Word for ourselves, let’s look no further than the Nazarene, Yeshua Bar Yosef. In observing him, we may surprisingly get in touch with our own inner chamber, our sacred space within where the Mystery of Mysteries has also come to dwell; the Spirit Breath that unites us with the timeless Life Flow between Father and Son.

4 Responses

I like what you’re doing with the concept of the Tao, Dylan, as the Tao is a universal principle/ presence/ spirit/ reality and/or force that isn’t limited to one location on the earth or universe. In my thinking, Yeshua embodied that spirit, speaking of it (him) in the context and language of his tradition, yet expressing it in universal terms that expanded beyond his religious and cultural tradition (Jews AND non-Jews). Some saw him as the Messiah of Jewish tradition, which is what he became after his death. Making him the Messiah made him a (The) special messenger who was and is unlike any other. Yet I see Yeshua in universal terms as related to the Tao (spirit of “God”, if you will), which (and perhaps who) is a universal force and presence everywhere in the multiple universes of all creation. Does this make sense to you?

Hi George. Thanks for your most perceptive comments. I can certainly understand where you’re coming from. I believe that Yeshua was in some mysterious the Tao, and that his resurrection was the natural outcome of that, as well as an authentication by Divine Love of his message and life. In my mind Christian theologians have actually tried to put the Nazarene and the Tao in a box for theological discourse and mind games. Thankfully It or He breaks out of all man made conceptual straightjackets, which makes learning to tune into the Tao an extremely exciting and fruitful Way to live.

So Dylan,
In your opinion, the manifestation/incarnation in the Nazarene was unique in history? That there has been no other incident qualitatively, if not quantitatively similar?
In this case (which I suspect is your position) and eschewing existing Christian reference points, why, in your opinion, did the Tao take the initiative to manifest it/himself in this form? The Tao, while self-aware and ‘giving’ in nature, has no reason such as “love” or “concern” that could motivate it to infiltrate this speck of dust in the cosmos and interact with the lifeforms thereon.
Cheers,
Chris

Thanks for dropping by and posing such an insightful question. I’ll try and answer it as simply as I can from my perspective.

Many Eastern thinkers see the Tao as an impersonal Force but Lao Tse gave hints in the Tao Te Ching that the Tao exhibits aspects of personality. Such a Source personhood would logically be required to birth our own sense of personhood in my opinion. On the basis here are threee simple little reasons for the Tao visiting mankind within the space-time matrix.

1) It wanted to Dance on the Stage of its own Creation.

2) It wanted to meet another face to Face.

3) We are so blind that we needed to be shocked into an Awareness of the constant, giving nature of Divine Love.